


Birthday Surprise

by benhalfway



Series: Ballum One Shots [1]
Category: Ballum, EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Army, F/M, Fluff, Happy, Heartbreak, Love, M/M, Passion, Reunion, Romance, Sad, Tearjerker, surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 08:03:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21442912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benhalfway/pseuds/benhalfway
Summary: Ben, despite the support of his family and friends, struggles to cope when Callum is called back to the army.
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell, Jay Brown/Lola Pearce, Linda Carter/Mick Carter
Series: Ballum One Shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1571590
Comments: 13
Kudos: 101





	Birthday Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is set in 2020. Ben has just turned 24, Callum is about to turn 29, Lola is 24, Jay is 24 and Whitney is 28. I just wanted to clear that up before starting.

Ben Mitchell was sat in the Queen Victoria pub, otherwise referred to as 'The Queen Vic' or simply 'The Vic' with a few of his closest friends and his brother, Jay Brown.

Since it was Ben's birthday, they'd decided to go out for a few drinks to celebrate.

Everyone was buying a round each, except for Ben since he was the 'Birthday Boy,' and his friends wouldn't feel right having him pay for the drinks at his own birthday celebration.

All of his friends had brought presents for him which he had opened at the table, and his best friend, Lola Pearce, had brought homemade cupcakes that she'd made with her and Ben's daughter, Lexi Pearce.

Everything was going pretty well, and Ben was so appreciative of all of his friends for making sure he was having an amazing birthday, but there was something missing that was stopping him from truly enjoying himself.

Or, rather, _someone_.

His boyfriend, Callum, was on duty in a completely different country, and he had been for eight whole months.

Ben was driving himself insane, just desperately waiting for Callum to come back home where he belonged.

Sure, he had his friends and family to help him through it and he was so grateful for each and every one of them, but he needed Callum. He was losing his mind without him.

And sure, they'd kept in touch as often as they possibly could, but it just wasn't the same. Every single phone call had ended in tears, because he had to say goodbye when he wasn't ready.

He needed to see Callum in person. He needed to see those piercing blue eyes, that sexy, swept-to-the-side hair and those extremely kissable lips in person.

He craved Callum's touch. He needed to be held, and for Callum to tell him that he was here now and he was here to _stay_.

He was terrified that he was going to lose him like he lost Paul. He couldn't possibly go through that again. He couldn't handle _another_ heartbreak.

But he understood that it was important and that Callum had no choice in the matter.

He had been enrolled in the army for years, but he had been deemed unfit a couple of years back and was discharged due to an injury he had suffered in an explosion.

Then, a few years later, his doctor had deemed him fit to go back and once it had been put on file, he had no way out.

He was devastated. He never wanted to go back again after that traumatic experience, but he couldn't just say 'no'.

So, there he was. Back in the army, risking his life, all because he wanted to prove something to his unsupportive father when he was young and had no way of turning back the clock.

Ben sighed heavily, resting his elbows on the table and burying his chin in the palms of his hands while he stared at the wall directly ahead of him.

He couldn't stop thinking about him, no matter how hard he tried. He missed him more and more with every passing minute.

"So, you've got one more present. I wanted to save this one for after you'd opened the rest, because it's the best one by far." Said his other best friend, Whitney Dean, as she handed him his final present along with an envelope.

Ben raised an eyebrow in suspicion but Whitney insisted that it was nothing to be worried about, so he trusted her.

He opened the envelope first, thinking it would just be a birthday card but there was a letter inside.

Once he'd unfolded the letter, he only needed to read a couple of lines before he was crying.

_Date: 17th October 2019_

_Dear Ben,_

_Hello there, gorgeous! How's my beautiful boyfriend feeling today? I hope you're doing well!_

_I miss you every minute of every day. I miss your voice, your laugh, your smile, your beautiful face, your hugs, your kisses – and most of all, I miss YOU._

_I miss our late night conversations where we just snuggle in bed, talk about random things, joke around and forget about the rest of the world – even if it's just for a little while._

_I can't wait to see you so I can hug you and kiss you, and tell you just how much I love you in person. You're my everything and more, and I'm so, so, so lucky to have you in my life._

_When you get this, it will be your birthday. I'm putting all of my trust in Whitney that she will give it to you on time so I can say this:_

_Happy birthday, Ben. I hope you have the best day ever and get showered with gifts and love because you deserve it. You deserve it more than anyone in the world. In the galaxy even!_

_I hope you like the gift I got you. I gave it to Whitney to look after before I was deployed because I knew she'd keep it safe._

_I love you, Ben. So, so much. There aren't enough words in the dictionary to describe just how much I love you._

_I hope you're taking care of yourself. If I come back and find out you're not eating and drinking properly, or you're not taking time for yourself when you need it, I will slap you silly._

_(Just kidding! But I'll be having some serious words with you if you're not looking after yourself, because someone's got to take care of my amazing boyfriend, haven't they?)_

_I love you so, so, so much and I'll never stop. Don't you ever forget that. You hear me? Ever._

_I'll see you when I get back, beautiful. It won't be long either! Just hold on a little longer, yeah?_

_Love_ _Callum x_

By the time Ben had finished reading the letter, he was a mess. He had his head on the table and he was sobbing uncontrollably.

He'd been trying his hardest to keep it together the entire time that he'd been in the pub, but he couldn't hold it in any longer.

He was embarrassed and he wished that he could stop crying, but he couldn't physically stop. He was a mess.

Jay immediately stood up and grabbed his brother's hand, gently pulling him out of his chair before enveloping him in a big, protective hug.

Ben immediately broke down on Jay's shoulder, soaking his shirt with his tears while a few of the pub-goers watched on with sympathy.

Everyone knew what he was crying about, because Callum going back to the army was public knowledge thanks to Ben.

He'd had a massive outburst in the middle of the square when he found out from Whitney – not Callum, Whitney – that he was going back.

Ben and Callum had hardly kept their relationship a secret either. They were always holding hands in public, kissing in public, declaring their love for each other in public – you get the idea.

They'd been deemed "Albert Square's Favourite Power Couple" at one point in time. Everyone loved them!

Well, except the homophobic bigots but that was expected, and Ben and Callum refused to let bigotry get in the way of their happiness.

"Listen to me, Ben. Do you think Callum would want you crying and moping about because you miss him, or do you think he'd want you to enjoy your birthday with your friends and family? I understand that this is hurting you, but you've got to stay strong." Jay said, rubbing his back in a soothing manner.

"I just want him to come home, Jay! I don't want him to end up like Paul!" He cried, tightening his grip around Jay.

Jay's eyes widened at this and he quickly escorted Ben to the back of the pub, where it was quiet and there weren't tons of prying eyes around them.

Linda, having watched the scene unfold, quickly followed them and lead them through one of the doors behind the bar.

She then lead them into the spare bedroom – AKA Callum's old room – where they could talk in private, while Jay thanked her over and over.

"If you need anything Ben – anything at all – just come and get me, Mick or Shirley, ok?" Ben nodded, unable to speak because he was crying so much.

"Thank you, Linda, but I think we'll be okay from here." Jay answered for him, managing to plaster on a fake smile for Linda.

He was concerned for his brother. He knew how much pain he was in and it killed him to see him hurting.

"Of course. Just text me if you need me." She said, smiling empathetically.

"Will do." Jay nodded.

"Good luck." She said, before closing the door to the spare bedroom and heading back to the bar to serve the customers.

—

"Whit, I'm nervous. I don't want to get all emotional and start crying again." He said, biting his lip as he stared at the present in front of him.

Whitney grabbed his hand from across the table and gave it a light squeeze.

"You'll be fine. Just open it." She encouraged, smiling softly before letting go of his hand.

Ben nodded and rubbed at his eye with his sleeve before carefully tearing open the wrapping paper.

Once he'd successfully opened it, the tears began to flow once again. It was a golden, heart-shaped locket that had the letter 'C' engraved into the lid.

He carefully took it out of its box and opened it up, running his thumb over the picture inside and smiling tearfully.

Suddenly, the main doors swung open and Callum walked in. The entire pub went silent apart from the odd few whispers and mumbles.

Ben hadn't noticed him yet as he had his back turned to him.

"What? What's going on?" He asked his friends, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"Why don't you turn around and have a look for yourself?" Lola asked, now grinning from ear to ear. Ben shrugged and turned around, only to do a complete double take when he saw what everyone was looking at.

He couldn't believe his eyes. Surely he was imagining things...right?

Stood near the entrance in his army uniform, with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder, was none other than Callum Highway.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Ben as he dropped the locket to the floor, staring at Callum in shock.

His head began to spin and he felt extremely sick. His mind had to be playing tricks on him, surely. Or maybe he was dreaming?

Ben didn't move an inch. He just sat there, watching on as Callum's now disoriented figure approached him.

The room began to spin and Ben's stomach began to churn. He felt like he was trapped on a carousel, going round and round and round.

He couldn't move, he couldn't speak; he couldn't do anything.

"Ben?" Whitney asked, growing concerned as she watched Ben start to wobble in his seat. He hadn't had much to drink so he wasn't drunk.

"Ben, are you okay?" She asked again, standing up and reaching out to touch his arm. Ben turned to look at her and he looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"This...this isn't real. I'm dreaming again. Right? Right?" He asked, his eyes darting between each of his friends. Whitney shook her head slowly and Ben gasped.

"This is real? He's really...he's really here?" He asked, a glimmer of hope shining in his eyes as he stared at his best friend.

Whitney smiled and nodded, and Ben turned to look at Callum once again.

He looked so different. His hair was messy and sticking out in all directions and he had a beard. He was clearly exhausted, but he was putting on a brave face for Ben's sake.

"C-Callum?" He stuttered, shakily reaching out to grab his hand. He wanted to make sure that this was one hundred percent real.

Callum grabbed Ben's hand and just held onto it, not saying a word so Ben could take the time to gather his thoughts.

By this point, Ben knew for a fact that he wasn't dreaming.

It was too real. In every single dream that he had had, if he had gone to touch Callum he would have disappeared, but he didn't this time.

Without another moment of hesitation, he jumped up and threw his arms around Callum's neck, burying his face in his chest and breaking down for the third time that day.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm here now, I've got you." Callum whispered so only Ben could hear, planting small, loving kisses on the top of his boyfriend's head.

The entire pub watched on in awe, a few people shedding actual tears at the beautiful sight in front of them, while Whitney and Lola took pictures on their phones.

"Don't leave me again, please." Ben mumbled against Callum's chest, sobbing heavily but quietly.

Callum tightened his grip around Ben in a protective manner, one of his hands making its way up to Ben's head where he ran his fingers through his smooth, chestnut hair.

"I won't, Ben, I promise. I'm not going anywhere, ok? I'm here to stay now." He said reassuringly, planting another soft kiss on the top of his lover's head.

Ben slowly removed his head from Callum's chest so he could look up at his handsome face, a huge smile spreading across his own face when he looked into those beautiful, bright blue eyes that he'd been longing to see.

"I'm home for good now, I promise." Callum said softly, shifting his hands from Ben's hair to his gorgeous face and carefully wiping away his tears.

Ben couldn't hold back any longer and he quickly grabbed the collar of Callum's camouflage jacket, pulling him down for a passionate, much needed kiss.

A few people wolf-whistled and cheered while Lola, Jay and Whitney watched on with big, cheesy grins on their faces.

They knew Callum was coming home that day. They'd told him to meet them at The Vic to surprise Ben, and he'd arrived as soon as he possibly could.

"Awww! This needs a soundtrack!" Lola commented, putting her hands over her heart and swooning.

Jay chuckled and wrapped his arm around his girlfriend, kissing her on the cheek.

"Everyone's so in love. When am I going to find _my_ Prince Charming?" Whitney whined, eliciting a small giggle from Lola.

"You will. Just let it come naturally. You need to stop doing all the chasing and allow someone else to chase after _you_ for once. And it will happen because you're bloody gorgeous. I mean, if I was a guy..." She trailed off, causing Whitney to blush and Jay to laugh.

Ben and Callum finally pulled away from the kiss after about forty seconds, and Ben was slightly breathless.

Callum chuckled softly. He loved the effect he had on Ben. One touch or kiss was enough to make him weak at the knees.

"I love you so much." Ben smiled, standing on his tip-toes so he could kiss Callum on the cheek.

"I love you too, Ben. More than you will ever know." He said, bringing a hand up to Ben's face and lightly caressing his cheek.

Ben nuzzled his face into Callum's hand and closed his eyes, smiling happily.

This was the best birthday present he could've possibly received. He finally had his man, and that was all that he had wished for.

"Ben, I know he's just got back and you probably don't want to ever let go of him again, but would it be possible for us to maybe say hi?" Whitney asked.

Jay rolled his eyes and Lola laughed.

"Oh, sorry! Yeah, course." Ben said, clearly flustered. Callum laughed and gave him one more quick kiss before walking around the table to greet and hug his friends.

Ben sat down and grabbed his beer, going to take a sip when he spotted the locket lying on the floor beneath the table.

He was so focused on Callum's return that he'd completely forgotten that he'd dropped it.

He popped his beer back on the table and bent down to pick up the locket before opening it up and admiring the photo inside.

It was his favourite photo of him and Callum, and Callum knew this. It was a selfie that he had taken when they were on a date in E20.

Ben was kissing Callum on the temple and Callum was grinning from ear to ear. They both looked so happy and that was why he loved it so much.

They'd both been through so much, both individually and as a couple, so Ben was super grateful for every happy, uninterrupted moment that they were able to spend together.

"So, how was the army? Apart from the obvious. Come across any fit blokes?" Lola asked as they hugged, purposefully trying to wind Ben up. Ben rolled his eyes and Callum laughed.

"Yeah, there were loads." He joked, causing Ben to look up and glare at him while Jay, Lola and Whitney burst out laughing.

"I'm only joking, babe." He said, grinning cheekily as he stole a chair from the empty table next to them and pulled it up next to Ben.

"Well, stop it. Jokes are meant to be funny and that ain't funny." Ben huffed, crossing his arms over his chest like a child.

Callum laughed and hugged him, planting a gentle kiss on his neck as he did so.

"You need to learn how to take a joke, babe. You know I've only got eyes for you." He said quietly so only Ben could hear, his lips brushing against his ear as he spoke. Ben squirmed a little and Callum smirked, pulling away.

"So, how's everyone been? Ben's not been getting into any drunk punch ups while I've been away, has he?" He asked, causing Ben to groan while the others laughed.

"We've been good! Obviously we've all missed you like crazy, but we managed. As for Ben, he surprisingly hasn't been getting into any drunk punch ups lately. The odd scrap maybe, but that's about it." Whitney chuckled.

"Good! Wouldn't want you getting into trouble, would we?" He teased, poking Ben in the side.

"What is this, gang up on Ben day? It's my birthday, cut me some slack." He groaned, causing all four of them to laugh.

"Yeah, he's 24 now! He's still got the mentality of a five-year-old though." Whitney teased, causing Ben to roll his eyes and smile.

"Yeah, I agree. You're very immature, aren't you?" Callum grinned, poking Ben's cheek. Ben swatted his hand away and laughed.

"Yeah, but it ain't a bad thing. Just means I know how to have fun unlike you boring old gits." He snorted, gesturing to Whitney and Callum.

"We are not old." Whitney scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Whitney, you're 28 and this idiot here is about to turn 29." He said, gesturing to Callum. "But me, Jay and Lola are all 24, so yes, you and Callum are old." He said. This time it was Callum's turn to scoff and roll his eyes.

"We are not old." He said, shoving Ben playfully. Ben laughed and shoved him back.

"Yes, you areee!" He sang, grinning cheekily. Callum rolled his eyes once again.

"There's only a five year difference between us. I'm not even 30 yet, so how can I be old?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Because I said so." Ben said sassily, placing his hand on his hip. Callum laughed at this.

"You're so gay." He teased. Ben flicked his imaginary hair and winked at Callum.

"You know it, girlfriend." He said in the campest voice he could muster. Callum just shook his head, smiling amusedly.

"God, I love you." He said, chuckling softly.

"Of course you do. Everyone does. The men around here only _wish_ they could look as sexy as me without even trying." Ben winked, causing Jay to groan.

Ben always became a massive show off when they were in public. Especially when Callum was around.

It wasn't a bad thing, but it was definitely annoying at times.

"Shut up." Callum laughed, playfully shoving him once again.

"Make me." He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Jay and Callum both facepalmed while Lola and Whitney burst out laughing.

The five of them spent the rest of the day laughing, joking, drinking, singing, dancing and just generally having a good time. 

Then when it was time to go back home, and Ben and Callum were in the privacy of their own bedroom, they couldn't stop themselves from tearing each other's clothes off and falling onto the bed together.

They spent the rest of the night making love, again and again and again. Ben couldn't get enough of Callum now that he was finally home, and Callum wouldn't have had it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> So, how was this first oneshot? I hope it was okay!
> 
> It's taken me so long to write. Hell, I must've deleted and rewritten it about 85,000 times now😂😩
> 
> All feedback is appreciated, whether negative or positive.
> 
> Please keep it respectful though. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but any downright nasty comments will be removed.
> 
> All my love,  
Chloe xx
> 
> Edited to add: I've turned this into a oneshot series rather than a oneshot book.
> 
> It's still basically the same thing but Ao3 is being weird and jumbling up the author's notes at the end of each oneshot, so I thought it would be easier if I wrote each oneshot as a singular work.
> 
> Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. I just feel bad that I haven't updated in a month, but I've been having a lot of difficulties with the website😅
> 
> Peace out,  
Chloe xx


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